I'm # 200!!

Cue the dancing girls. Tell the Cheerleaders to grab their pom poms and bring their megaphones. Strike up the band and start the parade!

I AM # 200!!

Nikki who is mommy to these cute little guys gave me a prize.

On the right is Crumpet and to the left is Ozzie.

I borrowed these pictures from Nikki's blog....I hope that's legal!

These two keep life hopping over at Blah, blah, blah, blog...

I just happened to be the 200th person to follow Nikki's blog. And she sent me a prize just for doing that. Isn't she the best?

This is my amazing prize. It's a beautiful antiqued box with a sliding drawer. This picture just does not do it justice. She also sent along this cute card. I do believe she has more talent in her little finger than I do in my whole body. Plus she is soooo funny! I love reading her blog because she always makes me laugh. And another plus....she is a fanatic Jazz fan. She's a Utah girl originally and moved all the way across the US but still watches every game.

Here is the box all closed up and ready for my jewelry to be nestled inside. There is a mirror on the front of the drawer and it's such a great color. My hubby thought I was totally insane when I was opening the box. He knows all about Nikki and her boys. I tell him all about her posts and he thinks she pretty awesome too!

When I opened the drawer I found there were Candy Cane Kisses. I'm trying to remember if I ever mentioned that I love Kisses on my blog. I think Nikki can read my mind. I have hidden them away so no one can eat them but me. I don't think that's selfish, do you?

Thank you Nikki for such a wonderful gift and thanks for sharing your life and those major cute dogs with the blogging world. If you haven't read Nikki's blog, you need to head over there right now.

100 Things

I have been feeling under the weather for the last week and just didn't have the umph to do any blogging that taxes my brain. I saw this over at INfertile Myrtle and decided to borrow it. You can borrow it too if you are having a blogging brain cramp!

If you do play along, leave me a comment so I can see your list. Bold whatever you have done.

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. (Does crocheting count?)
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you're not sick.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
.31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagra Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to truly be satisfied.
38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie. (Training movie at work!)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served in a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. (The Bobsey Twins, got it in 1965 and still have it.)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job. (Laid Off, the same thing.)
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Been to the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the paper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had Chicken pox.
89. Saved someone's life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake. (Um, I don't think you swim in the Great Salt Lake!)
97. Been involved in a lawsuit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day.

There you have it. 100 things and I have only done a handful. Nothing in an exotic place. Guess I need to get out more!

A Day To Remember

First of all, my congratulations to the new President of the United States, Barack Obama. I listened to part of his speech this morning at work and was inspired to hope for a brighter future.

During the speech of the President with my co workers, I knew I needed to go home. I was sick and getting sicker. Nothing serious, just an infection with antibiotics that weren't working fast enough.

I had just gotten home, changed my clothes, crawled into bed and was on the verge of sleep when my cell phone rang. It was one of my closest relatives. When I answered, it was actually the Branch Manager of one of our local banks. He told me who he was and said my family member had just been robbed. Suddenly my adrenaline kicked in and I was no longer sick. I could hear her in the background sobbing. "Could you come to the bank?" he asked, "Are you in Salt Lake?" I told him yes even though I was on the other side of the valley. I told him I would be there in 20 minutes.

I do not understand why people rob banks. The tellers do not keep much money in their tills so it is of little value to rob them only to be caught and spend 20 years in prison for armed robbery. We have had a rash of robberies lately. Maybe it's the economy that has driven people to do this. Whatever the reason, someone had now just hurt my family.

My hubby was away from home and I frantically called him so he could run me into Salt Lake. We (he) drove like maniacs or tried to. But we made it there in record time. As we pulled into the bank parking lot there were 6 or so police cars and 2 TV photographers. I hardly let the car stop before I was out of the door.

I was stopped, of course, by the police and explained who I was.

I walked into the bank. I am mature, I told myself. I am older. I cannot be weak, I cannot cry. When I saw her standing there shaking I crumbled inside. I just wanted to hold her and make sure she was OK. Physical she was still in tact but emotionally she was horribly shaken.

A man had walked into he bank, waited in line and she had asked to help him. He handed her a note that she really can't remember EXCEPT it said he had a gun. She turned to her till and gave him all her money. Not a fortune, like many people think. Defiantly not worth the threat on her life and not worth the price he will pay for doing this.

What upset me the most is this person has now destroy the feeling of safety and well being of this entire family.

I hope no one ever has to go through this or have a family member or close friend go through something like this. Customer Service employees, no matter what they do, are not paid enough to be held up and have their lives threatened.

With the new beginning in our country fresh on our minds I hope this little family can deal with this the best way they know and move past it to a better and brighter tomorrow.

For those who rob banks and threatend peoples lives.....I hope you enjoy stripes!

I Stole The Things In This Sack

Mama Kat has a Friday Writers Workshop each week and I have decided to participate once again. Go check out all the other entries, they are great!

The year was 1965. My parents had just gotten divorced and my Mother had married my evil Step Father. (Don't worry, he's a pretty nice guy now!) We had moved to Salt Lake and I had just started 2nd Grade in a new school. My teacher was young and pretty, I made a really nice new friend and the cutest boy in the 2nd Grade sat next to me. My mother also gave birth to my first half sibling.

I guess I felt like there was some attention lacking or maybe I was just young and wreckless and wanted to live on the edge. The edge of what I'm not sure, but I took a giant step forward in my criminal career.

Troll Dolls were big in 1965. Lucky Lockets weren't far behind. I loved both of these items and would wonder the toy aisles with lust in my heart for them.

The lovely Lucky Locket.

Alluring Troll Dolls.

My new family was pretty poor. We couldn't afford cool fun toys like the Dolls I loved! We lived just down the street from a store called Grand Central. We could walk up the alley behind our house and be there in a few minutes. I used to drag my older sister along. We would roam those beautiful toy aisles and wish they were all ours.

Being a clever, imaginative and creative child I made up an elaborate story that I would share with my sister. I told her we were doing a special project in school and when you wanted something from a store you would simply say this magic stuff and the clerk would just hand over whatever you want. My sister believed this. Would you?

So I stuffed many Troll Dolls and Lucky Lockets in my book bag and took them home with me.

Enter Evil Step Father........

Dum..dum..dum..dum........

Above stated Step Father found my stash of pilfered items. Off he drags us to the Store Managers Office to show him what rotten children we were. The Manager was very sympathetic and told us that if we promised to never steal anything again he would let us off the hook plus let us keep all our loot. Such a nice guy. Evil Step Father was not so nice. He got paper lunch bags, put all the stolen items inside, put a string through the top and wrote "I stole the things in this sack." We had to wear these for a week, everywhere we went, including school.

Lesson learned. I soon hated Trolls and vowed to never steal anything ever again.

It was about this time that I began to collect kitties instead of Trolls. It was a very wise choice! I wouldn't like living at the Point of the Mountain with real criminals.

Lemons to Lemonade

Katie, who resides over at Ritch in Love has given me a very sweet award. One I'm not sure I deserve, but one I will accept because Katie is just the sweetest thing ever. Please go over and visit Katie. She is a girl right here in our backyard. Katie is a true blue (red) Utes fan. She could be the biggest Utes fan I have met. She has also got the greatest stories that she shares and she really does make Lemonade out of Lemons.

As always there are rules:

By now we should all know what the basics are! but in case you don't know here ya go!

1. Put the logo on your blog or post

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great attitude or gratitude!!!

3. Be sure to link your nominees with your post.

4. Let them know they received the award by leaving a comment on their most recent post on their blog.

5. Share the love and link this post to the person that gave you the award!

Blogging is such an amazing way to meet new people. It reminds me of the Pen Pals of my elementary school days, only now you get instant feedback. I get to keep in touch with all my friends from the "old neighborhood" which is very high on list of important things. I have "found" people I have lost track of and keep to spy on other people and they don't even care! So, here is my list of some wonderful, caring blogging friends who are grateful for so many things and always try to see the best in everything.

1 - Veggie Mom at Eat Your Veggies! who is an awesome blogger and a great business woman. Plus things are poppin' over at her place all the time!

2 - Adiel at It's Because I Think Too Much, well, because I just love Adiel and if I could add another daughter to my family it would for sure be her!

3 - Sherrie at Kaysville Mama who is another neighbor to the north! Sherrie always has an upbeat blog and the greatest adoption stories I have read.

4 - Pam at Colorado McEwens is just over the hill from me. Her blog is uplifting and her life is filled with her serving others. She amazes me!

5 - Angela at My Dogumentary. Go visit Angela and see her cute doggies. She loves dogs as much as I love cats and there are always happy things going on!

6 - Tracy at The Journey. I so enjoy visiting Tracy's blog. She is always positive and has such wonderful things going on. Tracy's blog is great if you need a lift.

7 - Melissa at the scholastic scribe. Melissa's blog is where I go if I want to brighten my day. She teaches High School and deserves a Congressional Medal of Honor as far as I'm concerned!

8 - Liz at Livin' The Dream, who thinks no one reads her blog. Everyone should read her blog. She has the funnest adventures, the cutest kids and one fine looking husband. (Don't tell him I said that!)

9 - Tulsi at The Family Awaits. I just BARELY met Tulsi and haven't even finished reading her blog but she is great. What an amazing lady! And what a cute family.

10 - And because I hate to leave anyone out, I am following Katie and saying that I would like to give this to all of you. So if you know someone who deserve such a nice blogging award...take this and pass it on.

P.S. Janice, if you stop by and read this, I would really like to read your blog but you are private. If it is OK, can I play too?? Please? My email is drammac@yahoo.com. Just don't give it to the crazy people in the world.

The Miracle

When I was a teenager all I wanted to do is get married and start a family. I had of list of the children I was going to give birth to. All 12 of them. I had birth dates and names for them all. I had even included two sets of twins. But when I got married at 21 life didn't work out the way I had planned. All around me my friends were having babies, neighbors were having babies and teenagers I taught in church were having babies.

I went through every kind of fertility test available. I took my temperature every morning for years. I scheduled intimate moments for my most fertile time. (So romantic!) I took drugs, I had surgeries and then I volunteered to be a Guinea Pig at the University of Utah. My doctor at the U finally told me that I had multiple problems and my chances of ever having a natural child were so slim he wouldn't even give me a percentage of any chance. He told me to try adoption.

Those of you who have ever had fertility problems understand the turmoil you go through to accept the fact that you will not have natural children. It was a thought that was difficult to work around. But try for adoption was the choice. Two private adoptions fell through just weeks before each new baby was to be placed in my arms. Even today this is difficult to remember. Those of you who are going through this now, my heart goes out to you and I hope your time will be short and your ending joyful!

My doctor called once more and told me he had one more option. A new procedure that may work, or may not. So I scheduled the surgery for the Friday after Mothers Day 1985. Luckily for me, I was so sick on Mothers Day that I didn't have to face the dreaded Mothers Day Program at church. I knew that my time of the month would arrive that day. But it didn't....it didn't the next day or the next. I was as regular as a clock. Never even a second late and here I was getting ready for another surgery and my system was messed up.

During my pre-screening at the hospital they asked if there was a chance I was pregnant. I wanted to laugh, instead I cried and they took my blood anyway.

And a miracle happened......the hospital called and asked if I was Marrdy, yes I told them I was. They said your test is positive. I asked what test and they said my pregnancy test. I told them no, my name is Marrdy, that can't be my test. They then asked my full name and said yes your test is positive. I cried and cried and I still cry when I remember that day. One of the very best days of my life.

8 months later after 2 months of bed rest and 22 hours of labor I delivered a little boy by C section. A 5 pound 8 ounce, 18 inch son.

That first day was difficult. I was sick and Cole had been born with Poland Syndrome. No one, not the doctors, not anyone in the hospital knew what was wrong with him. They sent a nurse to sit with me that first night, just in case he didn't make it. He was born missing the middle bones of his fingers on his left hand and those fingers were webbed together. He was also missing his left peck muscle and his heart was pushed to the right side of his chest. I had a wonderful Pediatrician who researched this and came back to the hospital to give me an update. He was not sure what Cole's life would be like. When he was 9 days old he had his first of many trips to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake to have his heart looked at. I was drowning in self pity. Poor me. I had waited all these years for a child and may be loosing my baby. What a humbling day. After that day I was grateful for every moment I had with Cole. Grateful that his "problems" were so minimal. So very thankful that the Doctors said he was going to be fine. Just couldn't play football. (DANG!! Not.) Cole had to endure two surgeries to have his fingers separated and some plastic surgery. Plus follow ups with the Cardiologist to check his heart.


So today, January 7th, Cole is celebrating turning 23 years old today. Happy Birthday to the very first miracle of my life. The very answer to my prayers and the fulfilling of my dreams!

A Great Day To Be From Utah

Did anyone miss the Sugar Bowl last night? You did? Well, let me be among the hordes who are tooting their own horns and say that

The University of Utah Running Utes

beat Alabama in such an amazing game. The team played great and it was a pleasure to watch them win. They really do deserve this win and they had a wonderful, successful season. Way to go Utes!

But wait....what happens when we change the channel to FSN and start watching the Jazz?

Well, to start off with, they were playing the Lakers. I dislike the Lakers mostly because of Kobe. I can't even stand to look at him. I used to enjoy the Lakers. It was an honor to play and beat the Lakers. It was even better when you played the Lakers in the playoffs and took them to 7 games! Now those were great games with players who at least tried to be gentlemen.

I think I may be the only Jazz fan left who still likes Fisher. Fisher was once my favorite player (during his short time here in Utah) and I still like him. It's just so sad that he is a Laker.

The Jazz were down 20 when we first turned it on....they rallied to within 4 but just couldn't pull it off. It was really pretty sad.

BUT

The good news.....Paul Milsap is back from being hurt. He is playing again and my little heart is a flutter. And in case you missed it, he fouled Kobe and Kobe rubbed his neck and whined! I wish he would have made him cry instead. (Just kidding...I would not wish bodily harm on him....or would I??)

So, being in Utah and having the Utes win after their awesome season AND having Paul back has put a nice start to 2009.

Good riddance 2008, I don't think I will miss you. Especially the last 4 months. Time to move on, eat better, exercise more and enjoy life in general more.

Happy New Year Everyone!